54 county sheriffs file lawsuit to block state gun laws

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke speaks during a press conference Friday morning at the Independence Institute, 727 16th Ave., in Denver. Cooke gave a statement concerning the filing of a federal civil rights lawsuit in an effort to block state gun laws.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Frederick resident, Dylan Harrell, speaks during the press conference Friday morning at the Independence Institute in Denver. Harrell was one of several plaintiff who joined 54 Colorado county sheriffs on Friday in in filing a federal civil rights lawsuit in an effort to block state gun laws.

The full text of the complaint is available on the Indepedence Institute’s website, www.i2i.org.

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The Colorado Farm Bureau and a Weld County man representing disabled gun owners are among several plaintiffs who joined 54 Colorado county sheriffs on Friday in filing a federal civil rights lawsuit in an effort to block state gun laws.

The county sheriffs signed as plaintiffs along with 21 companies, groups and individuals. The civil suit filed in U.S. District Court on Friday morning names Gov. John Hickenlooper as the defendant. The lawsuit alleges that laws limiting magazine capacity to 15 rounds and requiring background checks for sales and transfers of firearms violate constitutional rights.

David Kopel, research director for the Independence Institute and the attorney filing the lawsuit, said at a news conference announcing the case that the lawsuit could go on for years. In the meantime, the plaintiffs are considering asking for an emergency injunction against the laws, which would put them on hold until a ruling is made in the case.

Kopel, who is representing the groups on behalf of the Independence Institute, said the laws not only violate the Second Amendment, but they also violate the 14th Amendment because their vague wording obstructs individuals’ rights to due process.

“People are entitled to clarity in the law,” Kopel said.

Frederick resident Dylan Harrell said because he is in a wheelchair, he has to rely on others to hold his firearms as he transfers from vehicle to vehicle when he goes hunting or shooting.

He said he has magazines with more than 15 rounds that are grandfathered in under the new law. But, he said, since the new law requires that he constantly possess them, he is technically violating the law if another person holds his loaded firearm for even a short period of time. While Harrell said he doesn’t think that would ever be enforced, he said the fact that the law is worded that way infringes on his Second Amendment right.

Harrell added that if he ever has to protect his two young children, he would be at a disadvantage and he wouldn’t want to be limited in the number of rounds he could have in his firearm at one time.

“Having to reload is a big deal to me when I have to protect my family,” he said.

Don Shawcroft, president of the Colorado State Bureau, said the organization is joining the lawsuit to protect the rights of farmers and ranchers, many of whom use firearms to protect their farms and livestock. “When the legislature passed these bills, they were aiming at criminals but hit the law-abiding citizens, the farmers, the ranchers and the rural residents of Colorado,” Shawcroft said.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, who has been a driving force behind the lawsuit, said filing the case is historic but not unprecedented. He said he’s pleased to have the support of the groups and individuals who joined the sheriffs as plaintiffs.

“It shows it wasn’t just one group or one person that thought their rights have been violated,” Cooke said. “It shows how much support this has.”

Cooke said he’s prepared for a resolution in the case to take quite a while, but in the meantime, he doesn’t think it’s likely he would even use elements of the laws as added charges in any cases. He said possessing a magazine with more than 15 rounds or transferring a firearm without a background check are low-level offenses and wouldn’t do much to bolster charges.

State Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton and the sponsor of the law that limits high-capacity magazines, said in a news release that the lawsuit is a political move.

“It’s time to stop playing politics and start protecting Coloradans from massacres and unnecessary gun violence,” she said in the emailed statement.

Cooke said the sheriffs and other plaintiffs are fighting to protect the rights afforded to citizens by the Constitution. He said lawmakers have no right to limit anyone, especially a woman or person with a disability, in how many rounds they can use to defend themselves.

“We believe the legislators were the ones playing politics,” Cooke said.